Love, Bacot lead North Carolina past Notre Dame 63-59

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Leaky Black leaps up for a UNC putback

North Carolina's Leaky Black jumps high for a putback layup to tie the score for the Tar Heels.

Feb 23, 2023, 04:46 am

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- — Caleb Love and Armando Bacot scored 16 points each and Bacot had a milestone double-double, leading North Carolina to a 63-59 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night.

Bacot grabbed 11 rebounds for his 67th career double-double, tying him with Tom Burleson for the fourth most in ACC history. Tim Duncan had the most with 87.

Pete Nance had 11 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (17-11, 9-8). R.J. Davis added 12 points.

Cormac Ryan had 14 points, Trey Wertz 13, and J.J. Starling 10 for Notre Dame (10-18, 2-15).

The Tar Heels overcame an eight-point halftime deficit early in the second half, taking the lead at 32-31 on a layup by Davis with 16:41 remaining. There were six more lead changes, the last on Love's offensive rebound and putback for a 53-52 UNC lead with 3:22 remaining.

Up 59-58 with 38 seconds left, North Carolina worked the shot clock before Leaky Black missed a shot with 11 seconds left. North Carolina grabbed the offensive rebound, and after another miss and offensive rebound, Love was fouled and made two free throws for a three-point lead. The teams then exchanged a series of free throws and North Carolina sealed it.

The Tar Heels held the Fighting Irish without a field goal over a five-minute period and 3 of 8 overall down the stretch.

Notre Dame led 27-19 at intermission after holding North Carolina to four points in the final eight minutes of the half. The Tar Heels shot 18.5% in the first half and missed all 11 of their 3-point attempts. The Tar Heels shot 33.3% for the game and were 2 of 23 from distance.

North Carolina hosts No. 6 Virginia on Saturday. Notre Dame will be at Wake Forest, also on Saturday.

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